Andy's Idea Factory

As many of my friends know, I have an addiction to photographing flowers, so when this email came into my inbox last week, I couldn't help but repost it!! It's got some great tips and it reminded me of what to think of when I'm shooting those small beauties. To join Digital Photography 101's list at PEPhoto click here: https://pephoto.lifepics.com Photo Tip #137: Photographing Spring Flowers Greetings Fellow Photographers! The seasons are changing again! Springtime in North America presents some incredible opportunities for taking photos as the snow melts, flowers bloom, and the weather warms up. Whether you step into your backyard for a little fresh air, or arrange a hike with your friends and family, try to spend some time outside in the coming weeks, and don't forget your camera! Close Ups You've probably seen some gorgeous close up photos of flowers and plants. A lot of these pho...

If there's one thing that people on restrictive diets complain about, it's attending public functions and being able to eat holistically.  And the reverse goes the same- when someone I know is hosting a party I'm attending, they're always worried about how they can feed me.  Here are some things to think about if you're either person, struggling with hosting or attending a public function.  Whether you're the dieter or the host, your tummy and your friends' tummies will thank you for taking a moment to include these few tips.  For the Dieter: Be honest:  Tell it like it is.  Don't be ashamed of your special needs, but don't be a pest about it either.  If they ask, let them know what you can't eat, and if they don't ask, kindly suggest some of the options below. Whether your reason is weight, medical, or just a life choice, everyone is different, and it's ok to state your differences. Be proactive:  Always travel with something. ...

WIKI: Search Engine Optimization(SEO) is the process of improving the visibility of a Web site or a Web page in search engines via the "natural," or un-paid ("organic" or "algorithmic"), search results. A beautiful Web site is nothing without SEO, and there are many ways to direct traffic to a Web site to move you up the search engine ladder and get you to the top of Google's first page when someone searches for you, your business, or your topic. In addition to providing great content, one of the best ways is Internal Linking : an internal link is a link to another page on your own website.  Like inbound links (your Web site's link on other sites), they help build up your ranking for search engine results pages (SERPs) and are 100% within your control.  Both are equally important, as inbound links offer credibility (from peers) that your site alone can't create.  But linking to yourself throughout your site is just as important, as it ma...

The online tools I teach to small business owners are the ones that are most inexpensive (or free!), stable, reliable and most importantly, always improving.  I look for applications that have the same priorities - making online marketing and communication easy for business owners. Today's blast from MailChimp is a perfect example. The headline: Every 4 weeks we launch new features.  An online tool can't get more up to date than that.  I have half a dozen clients using this program, and knowing they all got that email today too made me giggle.  What a proactive little monkey! It takes me weeks, sometimes months, to share the plethora of online gifts that I love with my clients, but in brief, here are some of the wonderful tools (in order of  why I appreciate them) that I use for my own businesses, which to me, speaks volumes when I learn from the my own online gurus. In this fast and vast technological age, we are all students just keeping up with the p...

As you know, I do my research.  I have three amazing women helping me clear out my food allergies, gut issues, and body in general (liver, lungs, emotional trauma) but there's a reason we know our bodies best and should listen to them - no two patients are the same.  And no two practitioners are the same.  Because mine are from three completely different schools of teaching (India, China, US), I am certainly getting some mixed messages while I'm clearing.  So that leads me to doing my favorite - research. Take vinegar at night to clear out the liver? Well supposedly not a good idea if I'm a Pitta. Take supplements to build good enzymes? Not if several of their ingredients are on no list. Take acidophilus instead of making my own yogurt? Nope, contains inulin. Take aloe juice to cool and clear out? (All three said this one!) SCD says no, plain and clear:  http://pecanbread.com/new/Sup1.htm ~ A great resource list at the Kids & SCD blog.  I was ev...

Having been off coffee since going on the SCD diet, and boosting my existing Scotch-Irish-induced adoration for tea, I've found a new favorite: the naturally sweet and nutty Kukicha tea, also known as bancha twig tea or winter tea (how perfect).  Kukicha comes from the tea tree Camellia sinensis, just as it is the case with green tea, white tea and black tea and is made from roasted and aged twigs, stems and coarse leaves of the tea plant. I was introduced to Kukicha at my last Tea Party by my Ayurvedic Practitioner for cleansing and healing my liver ~ but the benefits of kukicha tea are numerous, it is an important part of the macrobiotic diet (truly taken from Ayurvedic tradition) and it is considered to lead to stable health and longevity.  Sold! Kukicha tea's benefits come from its alkalizing properties and is good for the prevention of numerous diseases by balancing our levels of acidity.  Here's where the SCD diet comes in:  diets containing white flo...

They say the first month is the hardest, so I'm feeling pretty good that the first month wasn't actually that hard.  I won't lie, I went through a bad second-week chocolate withdrawal when my brain let go of that addiction, I had two straight weeks of adrenal fatigue , and getting used to making everything from scratch took some effort that I just barely had during that fatigue.  But coming out of the other end of that feels magnificent and the patches of psoriasis are already practically gone - and going gluten free didn't really affect them really at all - and when I pay close attention to the quality of the nuts I'm eating, and soak them, the arthritis has also been non existent.  I've finally started feeling like not only can I handle this for a short term (my naturopathic doctor said 6-12 months, probably more like 6 for me), I will likely take many of these practices with me far into my future food consumption. Since I have taken the time to do some qua...